


Two guarded hearts

by Claricebean_13



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jon Snow and Sansa Stark Are Not Related, Jonsa Exchange, Major Jon Snow/Sansa Stark, Minor Gilly/Samwell Tarly, Pining, Robb stark died (you find out how), Sansa is the crown princess of the north, Sansa is their heir, The pining is real, University Life, academia au, and by slow burn I mean real slow, jonsa, love through seasons, modern au 2020, ned and cat are king and queen in the north, so much pining, student life, they're both musicians, they're really just two guarded hearts completely scared that the other one doesn't feel the same, this is a slow burn, violinists to be exact
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:07:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28063677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claricebean_13/pseuds/Claricebean_13
Summary: The annual holiday gift exchange of the University of White Harbour tango orchestra had commenced; Sansa opened the envelope containing her gift receiver and found a token bearing the name Jon Snow.She blushed internally, shivers and warmth engulfing her senses.Maybe 2020 wasn't so bad for Sansa Stark after all.The building of a love through time.
Relationships: Jon Snow & Sansa Stark, Jon Snow/Sansa Stark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33
Collections: Jonsa Holidays 2020





	Two guarded hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bowthaisarecool](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bowthaisarecool/gifts).



> Hello! this is my first attempt at a Jonsa fic and first thing to go up on AO3 (I have written for other fandoms on other platforms, but my usual Jonsa stuff is poetry). I'm going to do some explaining here just incase things get a little complicated.
> 
> The story is set in 2020 in Westeros where the North has been its own sovereignty for a long time (hundreds and hundreds of years). Ned and Cat are the King and Queen in the North, and Sansa is currently the crown princess and heir to the North. Robb was the heir, he passed away more than ten years before the beginning of the story which is how Sansa became the heir. The rest of her siblings are alive, they are just not mentioned. Jon is not related to the Starks in this story.
> 
> The seasons in Westeros in this work are still a bit strange, closer to Australian seasons than that typical of the northern hemisphere. For this reason, the story takes place over the span of a calendar year where university starts in March and it is autumn time and finishes in early December. 
> 
> With the distances between places, I sort of looked up something where someone had approximated it in miles then I estimated based on driving speed but it's all fictitious so it doesn't really matter.
> 
> Also I'm not American so I don't use American spelling, and, when I say biscuits I mean cookies in American English.
> 
> if you have questions, feel free to ask me in the comments!
> 
> This work is a gift for the Jonsa Holiday Gift exchange (feels a tad meta) for Bowthaisarecool on AO3 / schnoogles on Tumblr.

* * *

It was a comfortably warm day when Sansa retuned to the campus of the University of White Harbour to commence her second year of the combined history and music degree. She carried her violin on her back and a small satchel on her shoulder as she entered the building of the music school. She quickly made her way to her locker, stowing away her delicate instrument and bag. She stood for a moment, allowing her reality to sink in.

_It is my second year; everyone says the second year is better than your first year_ , she thought. She smiled to herself.

Sansa was snapped out of her reflective mood by the sounds of someone tuning a violin in the practice rooms. Hoping to find one of her close friends, she tiptoed over, attempting a clandestine peek into the room through the small window.

She sees a boy (no, a man!) she does not recognise with pronounced Northern features, striking and rugged. _He must be new,_ she thought, as she continued to examine his person, finding his distracted yet mesmerising storm grey eyes and perfectly undone dark mop of curls. She catches herself staring for far longer than proper for a lady.

She quickly moved out of sight from the window, but alas, she had already been spotted. She stepped back from the door and and composed herself to face the proverbial music.

The door swings open, revealing the full form of the man in the room. Sansa lowered her eyes as to not accidentally begin staring again.

“Hi,” He began, a small amount of intrigued befuddlement dancing across his face.

“I heard someone playing and I thought I might see who it was,” Sansa responded, rambling slightly and mildly flustered in the presence of the handsome stranger. She nervously tucked loose waves behind her ear.

“I’m Jon Snow. You also play violin?” He asked, extending a hand which Sansa daintily shook. Sansa felt her heart skip a beat in nervous anticipation but went on anyway.

“Yes, I’m Sansa Stark.” She replied, looking up at him with a small yet bright smile on her face, attempting to scan his for a reaction.

“You’re the crown princess, heir to the North?” Jon said, apprehensively.

“Unfortunately so,” Sansa followed with a light chuckle.

“Do I need to address you as something particular?” Jon asked, his eyebrows furrowed with concern.

“No need. Most people here know and besides, I prefer not burdening everyone with official titles unless it is an official occasion in which case my mother and father will insist,” Sansa responded with an awkward chuckle, twirling a wave around her fingers.

“Consider it understood. How long have you been here?” Jon asked, making clear eye contact as if the previous exchange had not occurred.

“I’m in my second year doing combined history and music. What about you?” Sansa answered steadily, still slightly flushed and fidgeting with a lock of hair.

“I just transferred down here from Eastwatch University. I was doing commerce but I did not particularly like it so I decided to transfer into combined history and music down here.” Jon answered nonchalantly.

“Why did you choose history and music?” Sansa asked inquisitively.

“I guess I could ask you the same thing…” Jon answered, a flirtatious grin having appeared on his face.

“Touché… but really, what drew you to the combination?” Sansa continued, breaking her gaze from Jon’s face coyly.

“My mother alway wanted me to take over her business one day so I went to Eastwatch University for commerce because it seemed to make sense, but I didn’t really like it and it didn’t feel right. I transferred here in hopes of doing something I’m actually passionate about,” Jon replied, fidgeting with his hands. Sansa was caught off guard by his honesty.

“What does your mother do?” Sansa asked earnestly.

“She runs white wolf horses further north. Now your turn to spill,” Jon said with a coquettish smile.

“My parents weren’t too keen on my doing this and really going to university in general but they eventually relented.” Sansa responded with a small chuckle.

“I’m glad they did,” Jon added with a grin.

Sansa’s heart tingled at the new presence in her life.

(and in all honesty, Jon’s did too).

∞ ∞ ∞

It had been a few weeks since Sansa met Jon, a few weeks where she found out that they shared most of their classes. Unfortunately, she had just learned that a deadly virus had reached Westeros from somewhere far east. She rubbed her temples, knowing what her parent’s reaction would be. Luckily, she gets an ever-distracting text message notification from Jon.

Jon: What do you think about this business with the virus?

Sansa: My parents want me to come home and lock down in Winterfell with them.

Jon: That’s understandable considering what happened last time with your elder brother.

Sansa: that’s pretty much where this is coming from with them, but I don’t blame them.

Jon: My mother wants me to come home too.

Sansa: Where would that be?

Jon: About an hour north of Winterfell. It’s close to the White Wolf property.

Sansa: I know the area! I boarded at Winter House College around that area for school.

Jon: The White Wolf runs the stables there. I saw a bit of the campus a few times.

Sansa: Where did you go to school?

Jon: Wintertown.

Sansa: I know the one. It’s a bit far if you’re on the other side of Winterfell?

Jon: Yes, but I had a scholarship down there so it made the over an hour to school and back worth it.

Jon: Check your email, the university just sent out an email about closing down campus because of the virus.

Sansa looked up from her phone and rubbed her temples. She looked around the quiet apartment she had to herself and sighed. She opened the email, read it quickly and thought for a moment before typing back to Jon. It was already past 3 o’clock, driving home would have to wait a day or two.

Sansa: I’ll pack up tomorrow and drive back to Winterfell the day after. Do you need a lift home?

Jon: Are you sure? I’m really grateful for the offer but it is an almost six hour drive…

Sansa: I don’t mind, honest.

Sansa: Besides, I could use the company on a long drive…

Jon: In that case I will take you up on your offer!

Sansa: Send me your address later and I’ll tell you when I’ll come to pick you up.

Sansa was inwardly shocked at her own forwardness. She’d only known Jon for around a month, but somehow she felt that he wasn’t out to get her or use her like many a boy befriending her before him. It didn’t matter; Jon needed to get home just as much as she did, and it would be easier to just go together in her roomy range rover anyway. Her phone went off with her mother’s text message tone.

Mother: When are you arriving home?

Sansa: Hopefully the day after tomorrow, everything permitting.

Mother: Your father and I would really prefer to send the jet so you don’t have to do the awful six hour drive alone.

Sansa: I thank you and father for the offer, but I would prefer not to leave my car here and the airport will be busy enough as it is with other people trying to get to their homes out of driving distance.

Sansa smoothed her eyebrows as she thought of her dear history friends Gilly and Sam trying to get back to Eastwatch. The options for that weren’t good - it was either 18 hours of driving or trying to get on the 3 hour flight north which was so fickle depending on the weather. She hoped dearly that they could get home safely. 

Sansa: One of my friends lives just near Winter House College and he’s coming with so I will not be driving alone.

Mother: Which friend?

Sansa: Jon. You haven’t met him. His mother runs White Wolf.

Mother: I believe I know of the business.

Sansa: I will most likely drop Jon home first them drive back to Winterfell.

Mother: Okay. Please let us know when you do.

Sansa turned off her phone and sighed. The strange comfort and warmth she felt when talking to Jon seemed to be growing. She felt a twinge in her chest that felt so familiar yet utterly terrifyingly foreign simultaneously.

It would be a while before she deciphered its true meaning.

Sansa stood, shook off her thoughts and went straight to packing and cleaning.

∞ ∞ ∞

Jon stood outside his dormitory block and waited for Sansa to show up. Perfectly on the minute, her silver range rover pulled up. He quickly carried his two large bags to the boot of the car, stowing them alongside Sansa’s and placing his smaller one in the backseat. He noticed that she had strapped her violin down with a seatbelt. He smiled and did the same with his.

He smiled softly at her when their eyes met, grateful for the lift home but secretly thrilled with the idea of spending uninterrupted time privately with Sansa for the better part of a day. He stretched his legs in the front passenger seat and hit a bag making a rustling noise.

“Sorry I forgot that was there,” Sansa began with a bright chuckle, undoing her seatbelt and pulling the bag out.

“What is it?” Jon asked, grinning back.

“Only the essentials - water, coffee and snacks,” Sansa answered with a contented smile.

Jon looked in the bag and saw the water and coffee, but also among the snacks what must have been at least ten packages of lemon cream biscuits and a pastry box of small lemon cakes. He grinned widely, knowing the drive was going to be a good one. He closed his eyes in contentment, unable to wipe the smile off of his face. He heard the click of Sansa’s seatbelt and felt the car pulling back onto the main road north.

∞ ∞ ∞

The roads and traffic in driving north had been kind, allowing them to reach Jon’s home in just over six hours. It was already 4 o’clock and the streets seemed unusually quiet. _The schools are not open today,_ Sansa thought to herself. She shook her head softly, pulling into the driveway of the address Jon gave her. He was snoozing and had been for the last hour; she took the last sip of the second cold brew coffee she had been nursing throughout the drive. The home looked comfortable, as did he, softly snoring in her front passenger seat. Sansa swept the curls falling in front of Jon’s face behind his ear before she thought it through. Jon slowly woke up, seeing Sansa’s hand linger around his face before she could retract it, her soft touch looming on his skin longer after it was no longer there.

“We’re at yours,” Sansa started gently.

They both get out of the car, Sansa handed Jon his belongings from the backseat, helping him lug one of the bigger bags to the front door. She grabbed her own violin for safe keeping. One push of the doorbell later, his mother answered.

Lyanna gave a mild display of shock at the crown princess on her doorstep with her son.

“Princess Sansa, I have not seen you since you finished at Winter House College. Thank you for giving Jon a lift,” She exclaimed brightly.

“It was no trouble at all. And please, call me Sansa,” Sansa answered, a smile automatically growing on her face.

“Would you like to come in for a drink?” Lyanna asked courteously.

“I’m sure Sansa probably wants to get back on the road home,” Jon interjected nervously.

“I would love to come inside for a bit,” Sansa responded with a gracious smile.

After lugging the bags inside, they had tea and spice cake in the cozy lounge room. Jon wrung his hands fretfully, watching how at ease his mother interacted with Sansa. _Of course it would be like this, Sansa puts everyone she speaks with at ease, not just me. I am not unique in that manner,_ Jon thought.

Over an hour had lapsed far too quickly in Sansa’s eyes, as she bid goodbye to Jon and Lyanna. She embraced Jon warmly, attempting to memorise every detail about him since she was unsure when she would next have the privilege of seeing him in person next. She got back in her car, stowing her things again to make the relatively short journey down to Winterfell on her own. The car felt dreadfully lonely without Jon, even in his sometimes silent presence. His scent lingered in the car despite his not being present and Sansa felt that even thought she had just spent hours with him, she yearned for more time with him.

The twinge in her chest returned, rooting itself deeper in further familiarity yet remaining distinctly foreign.

It grew stronger.

∞ ∞ ∞

Sansa had settled herself back into her quarters at home, arranging her study to be most conducive for online studying and giving herself practice time every day. Her violin and harp (the dear instrument she absolutely could not bring with her to university) were excellent sources of distraction and diversion from any discomfort brought on by being stuck at home doing online university. Whenever those feelings came up she did her best to shove them away and out of mind. She felt guilty when those feelings reared their collective head; she was privileged to be safe and to have what she did and any feeling that remotely indicated to the contrary felt deeply uncomfortable.

Sansa had been communicating with Jon fairly regularly since they returned to their respective homes. It was mostly online school work that concerned their message exchanges, the history and music classes proving an invaluable distraction from the outside world.

There was however one class a week that had Sansa’a attention more than most. The online orchestra was not a typical orchestra as such, rather a meeting of all of the members to discuss recording of their parts so a collaborative track could be assembled as a performance of sorts. Professor Tarth (or Brienne, as she preferred) hosted the meeting with her conducting student Podrick Payne. They spent half of the two hour meeting with the non string players and the other half with the string players. Mostly, when Brienne was not present the strings group would bunk off task and chat about whatever they fancied (but usually memes, supplied by Theon Greyjoy). It was an unexpected opportunity for Sansa to look longingly at Jon clandestinely. Jon was doing pretty much the same with Sansa, looking forward most in every week to the two hours where Sansa’s face would grace his screen.

The growing twinge in her chest was still undecipherable.

Jon had long felt the same, the sensation invading his mind and senses whenever anything Sansa related crossed his mind (which was quite a lot).

Jon knew the danger of the feeling. He resigned to it anyway.

∞ ∞ ∞

Fortunately, due to very good management and cooperative citizens, the virus did not manage to gain a foothold in the North. After only two and a half months of locking down the citizens of the North were free to return to their day to day lives with a few minor (prophylactic) alterations. Sansa visited her brother’s grave in the crypts; Rob, the elder brother and heir to the North that had fallen casualty to the last deadly virus to enter the North when she was less than ten. Deadly viruses were treated seriously in the North from then on.

Sansa was immensely pleased and excited when she got the email in the school break detailing a safe return of students to campus. Her phone swiftly buzzed with a message from Jon.

Jon: Can we drive back down together?

The drive was longer than the last one but far happier. The air was buzzing with an electric feeling Sansa could not identify when she was around Jon. There was a frequent exchange of smiles, chuckles, sneaky touches and snacks as they regaled each other with the relatively mundane tales of their time apart.

The orchestra had become a tango orchestra for the remainder of the university year, smaller and easier to facilitate safely face to face. Sansa found the first rehearsal back in person to be exhilarating. The thrill of rehearsing and performing with Jon was overwhelmingly good, the adrenaline rush she got from performing more present than ever.

Jon’s proximity to Sansa in the rehearsals was intoxicating. He was extremely thankful that Brienne had assigned Sansa the big solo as she (at least outwardly) appeared unaffected by his general presence.

Sansa’s heart fluttered when Jon sung her praises despite her believing him to be the better violinist. She masked her true emotions to the best of her ability. She was relatively safe here, but the true feelings of a crown princess were dangerous, and she wished to not corrupt them by allowing them to escape or be spoiled by other people’s opinions.

They may only exist within confines of the sanctuary of her mind, no matter how much the twinge in her chest begged her to do otherwise.

∞ ∞ ∞

The annual gift exchange announcement grew nearer and Sansa hoped dearly for one particular name to be in her envelope. Sansa had told Jon of the gift exchange not long before it was scheduled to begin. He brooded wistfully, memorising Sansa’s long fiery waves and piercing blue eyes.

Before he knew it, he had drawn the envelope with his name on it, finding the token inside bearing the name that had been on his lips since he had met her. Jon was flabbergasted at the stroke of luck. Podrick Payne tapped him on the shoulder.

“Don’t mess it up.”

Sansa was quietly ecstatic to have pulled Jon on her token too.

Brienne directed a message at the students, but Sansa felt the studious eyes fall on her.

“It doesn’t have to be an object, your gift. It could be a kind gesture.”

Sansa took it to heart.

∞ ∞ ∞

A few weeks later, all of the students brought in their gifts. Sansa felt the weight of the palm sized box in her hand grow heavier. Her nerves calm slightly when Jon appears, fidgeting with a small box in his hands.

The gift exchange began.

Jon opened his gift, finding a beautiful handmade gold rosin from Direwolf makers. He instantly found Sansa’s gaze, immediately knowing the gift to be from her, giving her a pleased smile.

Sansa opened her gift, finding a small silver bracelet bearing a singular winter rose. A note accompanied.

‘Your true smile is as rare but as beautiful as a winter rose.’

Sansa blushed, looking up from the note to find Jon’s kind eyes on her. She smiled back, finally knowing what the twinge in her chest was.

Sansa rushed to catch Jon as the students were leaving the rehearsal for the final time of the year.

“I have another gift for you. Something I couldn’t put in the box.” Sansa said, flustered yet determined.

Jon observed her demeanour and gave a nod, following Sansa back to her quiet apartment. The place was cozy and homely in a manner he hadn’t quite expected from the ever proper and put together crown princess. Jon’s heart soared.

“I wanted to give you this” Sansa started, placing an ornate envelope in Jon’s warm hands. Jon opened it, finding an invitation to the Stark family holiday ball.

“This is very kind, but I don’t think I’m the sort for this…” Jon said caught off guard, trailing off.

“I wanted you to come so I could introduce you to my family as my boyfriend…if you would like…” Sansa interrupted apprehensively, pausing.

Jon closed the distance between them, placing his hand lovingly on Sansa’s cheek.

“I would love nothing more,” Jon answered, quietly emphatic.

“Really?” Sansa questioned in earnest.

“For a long while I have wanted nothing more than for the day to come where you might feel the same about me as I feel about you.” Jon softly declared adoringly, placing a fallen fiery wave behind Sansa’s ear.

“Then I will be more than proud to present you to my family as my boyfriend.” Sansa responded, a smile lighting up her face that was utterly infectious to Jon.

“May I kiss you?” Jon asked gently.

“Yes please.” Sansa answered swiftly, bring her own lips to Jon’s, and joining them in the sweetest of embraces. For that moment, it felt as though time stopped momentarily, to allow them to savour the moment.

“It still doesn’t quite feel real,” Jon started coyly, slightly daze by the heady nature of the moment.

“Does this feel really enough?” Sansa asked coquettishly, leading Jon by the hand to her largest couch. She gently pushed him down and climbed into his lap in a tangled embrace where they could celebrate and relive their unreal-feeling moment 100 times over and more.


End file.
